Biden and Dems deliver: more jobs, better pay, and lower costs—all while fighting for our freedoms to vote, to love who we love, to be who we are, AND to decide if, how or when we start or grow our families.
The MAGA Repubs wage endless culture wars to distract and divide us so they can ensure a few wealthy, well-connected billionaires & price-gouging, big corporations don’t have to pay the taxes they owe, don’t have to stop blanketing the Earth in heat-trapping pollution, or don’t have to be accountable for a criminally-coordinated attack against our country to sabotage free, fair elections and silence the majority of Americans...
These are great points when talking to others who self-identify as Democrats. But the majority of Americans are not registered with one party or the other, though they often vote in alignment and for one party over the other.
It's important to note that this message works great in this forum/community, but for less partisan folks -- leading with the country is better off and how that translates personally is also key. Highlighting that Biden is a good President by reminding them he's working for working people is also critical -- he put checks in pockets, shots in arms, kids back in school, invested in roads, bridges and broadband, and cut costs on prescriptions and hidden fees, etc.
Make the 'better off' concrete and personal. Otherwise, it's just a slogan (it's also helpful to draw a contrast with the MAGA Repubs, who serve no one but their dark money donors).
We should continue to be proud and continue to get louder, but also do it in a way that will move those who share our values, but not necessarily our party registration :)
I read it this morning and thought of you. We all need to be telling our friends and family what a great job Biden is doing. Please spread it on social media, too.
Money doesn't buy happiness, the sense of security that we yearn for. I strongly recommend that folks listen to or read the transcript to the On Point broadcast of August 1: https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2023/08/01/why-voters-arent-impressed-by-bidenomics . The participants articulated what I've been trying to understand for the last 6+ years. Democrats must speak forcefully to more than just the economy.
Ed, here at Hopium we don't believe in "All well and good. But...." "Biden has done a good job, the economy is good and we have work to do to communicate the progress we've made to people." "Buts" are negations, canceling out what came before. Republicans dismiss the progress we've made. Democrats acknowledge it, and keep building, keep doing more work. "Buts" and talking down America are tools of MAGA. Don't use them here, please.
Cancelled sub. to WAPO when President Biden spoke to nation about U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and WAPO prize-winning writer appeared on MSNBC, and with words, tone and demeanor disrespected our President. This on economy from an editorial board nearly knocked me out the chair. Appreciate you excerpting here Simon.
I want to hear what you all have been doing? Are you a grassroots org staff member? Are you just a regular person who is concerned, like me? Today I have done a voter registration event at a local church with YouCanVote.org in NC. We registered 9 voters today mostly young black and brown. And gave out 125 fridge cards (English/Spanish) with scan codes to verify reg with election dates for local state and national. It was great knowing and chatting with folks and encouraging them their votes matter. I am doing another event this evening, and two next week. Just thinking about how many votes our Dem Senator candidate lost by in 2022, 8000. To know little by little the more that are signed, we can close gaps like that since young black and brown are generally Dem voters. Get busy! I will do a phone shift for Ohio tmrw! Thanks for the motivation Simon to turn Anxiety into Action! Let me here what you all are doing this week Info Warriors! Let’s be Loud together! Hug from NC
Thanks for all you are doing B. Johnson, and thank you for asking what I'm doing.
My work is with FeathersOfHope.net, focusing on current members of the House of Representatives, rather than on elections.
Feathers of Hope is a network of ordinary citizens committed to advocating for the removal and replacement of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, thereby diminishing the power and influence of MAGA extremists now in that chamber.
The House of Representatives is the one place where a Trump-allied coalition wields actual power within our government today. So that is also the one place where we can inflict a truly meaningful defeat on MAGA power. With seats and a chairmanship on important committees, as well as significant control over Speaker McCarthy, MAGA forces are well-positioned not only to damage the integrity of that chamber. They can, have, and will continue to inflict damage on the country itself.
In the Spring, they brought our country to the brink of economic catastrophe with their refusal to authorized an increase of the debt ceiling. Next month, they will attempt to shut down the government by refusing to abide by the agreement with President Biden ending that "crisis".
We have been urging the 149 Republicans who've already joined with Democrats to prevent a U.S. default, to use the leverage of their bipartisan majority and strip Kevin McCarthy of his Speakership. Using the same "motion to vacate" that the MAGA/Freedom Caucus has been wielding as a threat, they can remove Mr. McCarthy and elect a moderate Republican Speaker, someone like Don Bacon (R-NE), who is committed to govern responsibly. That would isolate and marginalize the minority MAGA faction.
Everyone who values an orderly functioning House of Representatives is encouraged to pitch in. You can learn more here:
Wow Jerry thank you!!! That is a great way to take control back from the extremists. I will happily check out your group and donate. He is such a mess. I know there is a young man running for McCarthy’s seat next year.
Thanks for all you are doing and please occasionally share your ‘Good News’ here periodically. Knowing that a group like this is working in the background as a safeguard soothes frayed nerves! Lol. Keep it up and I appreciate the response!
Make no mistake, MAGA voters know Joe is kicking A$$. They’re just so hyped up on MAGA roids and crack that they can come to terms with it. Why don’t they want to come to terms with it? Because if it’s not baked and benefiting only whiteness & evangelicals, then it’s bad, even though their bank accounts are ballooning.
Only way to win is to keep pounding the message across all mediums and eventually a small percentage of maga will surrender & come to terms with reality.
I agree with you, while I feel signing young and new and black and brown voters is sooo much easier to reach 55% then wondering about extreme R’s converting. So find a group to support. Field Team 6 Simon has mentioned or CivicsCenter.
Also Citizens that can vote in National elections who live abroad is 9 million! That is a lot of potential votes that needs $ donations/ volunteers to reach those voters.
Actually, I'd argue that while our goal is to keep pounding across all mediums -- it is not to reach and convert MAGA Repubs. It is to do three things to help get us to 55:
2) Saturate the social media space so we crowd out the culture war distractions and disinformation, lies, gaslighting, and projection that MAGA Repubs use to dominate discourse; in so doing, they've made the mainstream media amplifiers of their propaganda, given MSM's obsession for binary, conflict-driven narratives that force false equivalences and worse, relies on normalization bias to allow a both-sides argument that compares a party that wants to govern, with a party that literally wants to take away our freedoms and turn America's democracy into a fascist, lawless kleptocracy for a wealthy, well-connected few billionaires and price-gouging big corporations who don't want to pay the taxes they owe or be held in anyway accountable for their greed
3) and finally (as Simon has said), create a permission structure based on our positive Democratic values that allows and even welcomes 'never Tr*mpers' to ally with us -- after all, when the MAGA Repubs offer only recessions, deficits, failures, and now fascism, the alternative of jobs, progress, fairness and freedoms from Dems seems like a win-win
So proud to be a Democrat---“Loud and proud everyone. Joe Biden is a good President. The country is better off. The Democratic Party is strong. “. Yes we are. YES WE ARE.
And there is this...https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/democrats-overperforming-2023-special-elections-clue-biden-trump/story?id=101850305
Love this. What a great way to start a weekend 👍
Great update, Simon. Thanks. Keep it coming.
Biden and Dems deliver: more jobs, better pay, and lower costs—all while fighting for our freedoms to vote, to love who we love, to be who we are, AND to decide if, how or when we start or grow our families.
The MAGA Repubs wage endless culture wars to distract and divide us so they can ensure a few wealthy, well-connected billionaires & price-gouging, big corporations don’t have to pay the taxes they owe, don’t have to stop blanketing the Earth in heat-trapping pollution, or don’t have to be accountable for a criminally-coordinated attack against our country to sabotage free, fair elections and silence the majority of Americans...
As Simon says—be proud, get loud!
Joe Biden is a good President. Period
The country is better off.
Period
The Democratic Party is strong. Period
There. Are. No . BUTS.
These are great points when talking to others who self-identify as Democrats. But the majority of Americans are not registered with one party or the other, though they often vote in alignment and for one party over the other.
It's important to note that this message works great in this forum/community, but for less partisan folks -- leading with the country is better off and how that translates personally is also key. Highlighting that Biden is a good President by reminding them he's working for working people is also critical -- he put checks in pockets, shots in arms, kids back in school, invested in roads, bridges and broadband, and cut costs on prescriptions and hidden fees, etc.
Make the 'better off' concrete and personal. Otherwise, it's just a slogan (it's also helpful to draw a contrast with the MAGA Repubs, who serve no one but their dark money donors).
We should continue to be proud and continue to get louder, but also do it in a way that will move those who share our values, but not necessarily our party registration :)
I read it this morning and thought of you. We all need to be telling our friends and family what a great job Biden is doing. Please spread it on social media, too.
All well and good. But....
Money doesn't buy happiness, the sense of security that we yearn for. I strongly recommend that folks listen to or read the transcript to the On Point broadcast of August 1: https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2023/08/01/why-voters-arent-impressed-by-bidenomics . The participants articulated what I've been trying to understand for the last 6+ years. Democrats must speak forcefully to more than just the economy.
Ed, here at Hopium we don't believe in "All well and good. But...." "Biden has done a good job, the economy is good and we have work to do to communicate the progress we've made to people." "Buts" are negations, canceling out what came before. Republicans dismiss the progress we've made. Democrats acknowledge it, and keep building, keep doing more work. "Buts" and talking down America are tools of MAGA. Don't use them here, please.
"And did you hear how well his border policies are working?"
Hence Abbott's bloodthirtsy grandstanding!
Bam!
Thank you Simon. Yes, President Biden is doing a great job PERIOD!
Cancelled sub. to WAPO when President Biden spoke to nation about U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and WAPO prize-winning writer appeared on MSNBC, and with words, tone and demeanor disrespected our President. This on economy from an editorial board nearly knocked me out the chair. Appreciate you excerpting here Simon.
get the WP & NYT to use you graphs
I want to hear what you all have been doing? Are you a grassroots org staff member? Are you just a regular person who is concerned, like me? Today I have done a voter registration event at a local church with YouCanVote.org in NC. We registered 9 voters today mostly young black and brown. And gave out 125 fridge cards (English/Spanish) with scan codes to verify reg with election dates for local state and national. It was great knowing and chatting with folks and encouraging them their votes matter. I am doing another event this evening, and two next week. Just thinking about how many votes our Dem Senator candidate lost by in 2022, 8000. To know little by little the more that are signed, we can close gaps like that since young black and brown are generally Dem voters. Get busy! I will do a phone shift for Ohio tmrw! Thanks for the motivation Simon to turn Anxiety into Action! Let me here what you all are doing this week Info Warriors! Let’s be Loud together! Hug from NC
Thanks for all you are doing B. Johnson, and thank you for asking what I'm doing.
My work is with FeathersOfHope.net, focusing on current members of the House of Representatives, rather than on elections.
Feathers of Hope is a network of ordinary citizens committed to advocating for the removal and replacement of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, thereby diminishing the power and influence of MAGA extremists now in that chamber.
The House of Representatives is the one place where a Trump-allied coalition wields actual power within our government today. So that is also the one place where we can inflict a truly meaningful defeat on MAGA power. With seats and a chairmanship on important committees, as well as significant control over Speaker McCarthy, MAGA forces are well-positioned not only to damage the integrity of that chamber. They can, have, and will continue to inflict damage on the country itself.
In the Spring, they brought our country to the brink of economic catastrophe with their refusal to authorized an increase of the debt ceiling. Next month, they will attempt to shut down the government by refusing to abide by the agreement with President Biden ending that "crisis".
We have been urging the 149 Republicans who've already joined with Democrats to prevent a U.S. default, to use the leverage of their bipartisan majority and strip Kevin McCarthy of his Speakership. Using the same "motion to vacate" that the MAGA/Freedom Caucus has been wielding as a threat, they can remove Mr. McCarthy and elect a moderate Republican Speaker, someone like Don Bacon (R-NE), who is committed to govern responsibly. That would isolate and marginalize the minority MAGA faction.
Everyone who values an orderly functioning House of Representatives is encouraged to pitch in. You can learn more here:
https://www.FeathersOfHope.net or here: www.JerryWeiss.Substack.com
.
Wow Jerry thank you!!! That is a great way to take control back from the extremists. I will happily check out your group and donate. He is such a mess. I know there is a young man running for McCarthy’s seat next year.
Thanks for all you are doing and please occasionally share your ‘Good News’ here periodically. Knowing that a group like this is working in the background as a safeguard soothes frayed nerves! Lol. Keep it up and I appreciate the response!
No need for a donation, B.
We don't raise or spend any money. But would greatly appreciate you helping expand our network by sharing with your contacts.Thanks.
.
Make no mistake, MAGA voters know Joe is kicking A$$. They’re just so hyped up on MAGA roids and crack that they can come to terms with it. Why don’t they want to come to terms with it? Because if it’s not baked and benefiting only whiteness & evangelicals, then it’s bad, even though their bank accounts are ballooning.
Only way to win is to keep pounding the message across all mediums and eventually a small percentage of maga will surrender & come to terms with reality.
I agree with you, while I feel signing young and new and black and brown voters is sooo much easier to reach 55% then wondering about extreme R’s converting. So find a group to support. Field Team 6 Simon has mentioned or CivicsCenter.
Also Citizens that can vote in National elections who live abroad is 9 million! That is a lot of potential votes that needs $ donations/ volunteers to reach those voters.
https://www.democratsabroad.org
https://www.votefromabroad.org/state
So help and share this in your networks everyone. Especially directly if you have American friends and family living abroad.
Agreed!
Actually, I'd argue that while our goal is to keep pounding across all mediums -- it is not to reach and convert MAGA Repubs. It is to do three things to help get us to 55:
1) Excite and motivate our base, so they can be proud and get loud by sharing our values and successes with the vast majority of Americans who still are persuadable, not the small 20 - 30% dyed-in-the-wool MAGAs -- there's a great article here on this thinking: https://www.salon.com/2022/10/30/power-and-persuasion-why-democrats-dont-win--and-how-they-can-fight-back/
2) Saturate the social media space so we crowd out the culture war distractions and disinformation, lies, gaslighting, and projection that MAGA Repubs use to dominate discourse; in so doing, they've made the mainstream media amplifiers of their propaganda, given MSM's obsession for binary, conflict-driven narratives that force false equivalences and worse, relies on normalization bias to allow a both-sides argument that compares a party that wants to govern, with a party that literally wants to take away our freedoms and turn America's democracy into a fascist, lawless kleptocracy for a wealthy, well-connected few billionaires and price-gouging big corporations who don't want to pay the taxes they owe or be held in anyway accountable for their greed
3) and finally (as Simon has said), create a permission structure based on our positive Democratic values that allows and even welcomes 'never Tr*mpers' to ally with us -- after all, when the MAGA Repubs offer only recessions, deficits, failures, and now fascism, the alternative of jobs, progress, fairness and freedoms from Dems seems like a win-win
I like that Biden is putting his name on the projects funded by the infrastructure bill! https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/04/politics/biden-signs-claim-credit-for-economy/index.html
So proud to be a Democrat---“Loud and proud everyone. Joe Biden is a good President. The country is better off. The Democratic Party is strong. “. Yes we are. YES WE ARE.
Thank you Simon for all this information— if you hadn’t posted it I wouldn’t have known the turn around by a couple mainstream media outlets!